Abbey O'Brien: OG Creative Team of WAITRESS and now the Associate Director of the 10th Anniversary Tour!

I have known Abbey O'Brien for over 20 years, going back to our hustling days as performers in NYC (shoutout to Michelle Aravena, Jessica Rush and Adam Fleming too)! I'm so grateful for Abbey taking the time to Zoom with me during her Tech Rehearsal for Waitress the Musical – only two days away from their big Opening Night Performance of this 10^th Anniversary Tour! And you never would've known it by her calm demeanor and easygoing energy and smile. But hey she’s no stranger to the Waitress universe.

Abbey was there at the beginning of the Broadway rehearsal period for Waitress as the Associate Choreographer in early 2016, and now she is the Global Associate Director/Choreographer and at the helm of this 10^th Anniversary Tour, which officially opened on September 18, 2026, in Owensboro, Kentucky. Proud of you Abbey! Now before I share some of our chat with y’all, here is her Bio:

Abbey O’Brien is a New York City based Director, with a career in the entertainment industry that spans over 20 years. As a seasoned creative, her artistic journey is diverse, from Tony Award-winning cast member, to collaborating on an Emmy nominated TV show, to being on the creative teams of Tony winning Broadway shows, to directing original works, choreographing music videos, and working with major corporations.

Ms. O’Brien is currently the Global Associate Director of Sara Bareilles’ Waitress the Musical. Most recently the Resident Director of the global sensation, Moulin Rouge, as well as Alanis Morissette’s 15-time Tony award nominated Jagged Little Pill.

Hello Abbey O’Brien! Good to see you, friend. I know you have a long history with Waitress the Musical. Could you tell me about that.

Hi Kip! Yes, Lorin Latarro was hired to be the choreographer for the Broadway transfer of Waitress, and I was her associate at the time, so she brought me along to be the associate choreographer of the Broadway company. We built that company and then the show became hugely successful.

Diane Paulis was the original Broadway director of Waitress. Over time Diane and I developed a very close, collaborative relationship and she passed along to me directing various productions across the world. And now it’s been 10 years and counting.

That’s fantastic! I love it when a special show like this one keeps coming back into your life: The gift that keeps on giving! That’s how I felt about Les Misérables.

I love your Bio by the way. I’m going to just throw out certain parts of it, and you expound on it please.

Tony Award-winning cast member:

Yes, I was in the original company of Spamalot on Broadway. And we won almost every Tony Award that year, including Best Musical. It was an amazing experience because it was my first Broadway show and it was a huge hit!

Ok, next is Collaborating on an Emmy nominated TV show:

Yes, SMASH the TV show on NBC.

I loved SMASH!

Yes, SMASH came into my world because the choreographer, Josh Bergasse, brought me in to work out some Marilyn Monroe choreography and I ended up becoming an associate choreographer for that with him.

But I wanted to be a dancer on it too, so he said I had to audition, which I did of course. And I got it. So, I would go back and forth between performing in an episode and helping create some of the movement as well.

Josh Bergasse is fantastic! I used to take his musical theatre dance class at Broadway Dance Center religiously. And I watched every episode of SMASH in real time for the two seasons it was on NBC. I remember you being on that. So cool!

Next from your Bio is Being on the creative teams of Tony winning Broadway shows:

Yes, once I stopped performing… it was a very clear decision I made. I knew that the only way anybody was going to take me seriously is if I no longer performed and that I was fully on the other side of the table – especially as a woman to be honest. So, I made that decision and I started doing Associate work. I worked on the original Broadway companies of Waitress and then Jagged Little Pill. I also was the Resident Director of Moulin Rouge, but I joined that show later after it had already been established and developed. I’ve been very lucky in my career to (mostly) have been part of the original creative team in some capacity as an associate.

I love that. And that Waitress was the first Broadway show to be led by an all-women creative team and you were part of that.

Yes, and I’m very proud of that.

You’ve done so much and worked with so many extraordinary talents and stars but let’s stay on theme and focus on Waitress. Although I’m dying to ask you about Bernadette Peters. Haha. Why do Huntsville and Tennessee Valley Audiences need to come out and see Waitress, Sept 25-27?

We could all use a sense of familiarity and comfort right now. This show is almost like Sex and the City – Are you a Samantha? Or a Carrie? It’s the same idea, everyone can see themselves in one of these characters – me I happen to be all three of them (Jenna, Dawn & Becky). It’s a story about female friendship, your Chosen Family. It’s about continuing to dream, even if your dream doesn’t look as big as others. It’s about really appreciating the simplicity of life, while also continuing to risk and dare.

It’s funny, it’s playful, it’s sexy.

Excellent! I love a show that is funny but also has a big heart to it and is emotional. It’s about finding your spark again and getting out of a rut. We can all relate to that feeling at some point in our lives, right?

Yes, and I think that’s part of how everybody can, no matter what gender you are, what age you are, where you’re at in love – what stage or phase you’re at in love… everybody knows what it feels like to climb out of a hole you’re in. We all know that journey. It’s hard. It’s not easy to find our voice again and sometimes it takes a village to get you there. And that’s what this small town does for Jenna.

And of course, there’s the fact that Sara Bareilles wrote the music and lyrics. We are so lucky that she came to Broadway because her music is so beautiful, vulnerable and interesting.

Ok, I know I need to let you go because you’re opening in two days! And your cast and crew are waiting for you (Abbey just turned her laptop towards the stage and gave me a sneak peek). But do you have time for a quick game of “Rapid-Fire Questions?”

Hit it!

Favorite Broadway Musical:

Crazy for You

Favorite show you’ve worked on as a performer or creative:

Spamalot

Favorite show you want to work on someday:

Come From Away

Favorite audition song that has gotten you the most jobs back in the day:

“I’m Just a Girl Who Can’t Say No” and I changed the words to “I’m Just a Nun Who Can’t Say No” and dressed up as a nun for my Spamalot audition. And I got the gig!

Least favorite Broadway Musical:

Dracula

Best time you’ve ever had in the audience watching a Broadway show:

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

Favorite restaurant in NYC:

Gallagher’s Steakhouse. It's stayed consistent after all these years.

Favorite cocktail:

Gin Martini

Favorite person who has ever interviewed you:

I think his name is Kip… Kip Driver, yes that’s who it is!

Thank you, Abbey O’Brien! I hope to see you next time I’m in NYC. And yes, Michelle Aravena, I asked you the same last question when we chatted about Beetlejuice on Kip’s Korner a couple of years ago (wink wink).